Illinois beefing up election security, upgrades will be in place by 2020

Illinois State Board of Elections
The State Board’s Matt Dietrich said most of the new security efforts won’t fully be in place until the 2020 election.  (Facebook/Illinois State Board of Elections)

 

By Illinois Radio Network/Benjamin Yount

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Board of Elections is doing all it can to make sure the November election is secure.

But most of the new security efforts won’t fully be in place till the 2020 election, State Board of Election’s spokesman Matt Dietrich said. Right now, only about half of the state’s cyber navigators are on-board. The cyber navigators will be assessing vulnerabilities in the 108 different local election jurisdictions across Illinois.

“We have $13.9 million to hand out,” Dietrich said. “Half of that has to go to us to create the cyber navigator program, which we are in the process of doing now. Some of those navigators, there will be nine of them, some of them have been hired.”

Dietrich said the State Board is also helping local election authorities.

“We released $2.9 million to any local jurisdiction that has already spent money,” Dietrich said. “If they spent after July 1st for cyber security, they can get reimbursed for it. Or if they have projects that they know they have to do to improve their cyber security, they can go ahead and send us a grant request and then we’ll release the money to them.”

Dietrich said all of the state’s cyber navigators and local upgrades should be in place by 2020.

An ISBE voter database was hacked in 2016, exposing data on more than 70,000 voters.

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…